THE National Football League (NFL) players could soon be cleared to take part in flag football at the 2028 Olympics, International Federation of American Football (IFAF) president Pierre Trochet told Reuters following his re-election on Saturday for a new term that will encompass the Los Angeles (LA) Games.
Regarding the timeline for a decision on their participation, Trochet said: “In the first half of 2025, I think.
“This is an ongoing process — obviously I don’t want to speak for football operations, but I can tell you for sure with a lot of confidence that there’s a lot of positivity around the table,” he added.
Players such as Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes have been touted as potential Olympians should the NFL give the green light.
The IFAF president said that negotiations with team owners and the players’ union were at an advanced stage.
Flag football, a non-contact format of American football played by teams of five, was added to the program for the 2028 Games in October last year. American football last featured as a demonstration sport in the 1932 LA Olympics.
Played on a pitch measuring 70×25 yards, there is no blocking, kicking or tackling in flag football, and each down ends either when a player goes out of bounds with the ball or a defender removes the flag, which is worn on a belt around the waist, from the ball-carrier.
While the NFL declined to comment, some players have shown interest in making a temporary switch to the fast-growing flag football to realize their Olympic dreams.
Trochet gave the example of basketball great Michael Jordan, who won gold at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles and at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.
“Look at Michael Jordan, look at the Bulls, six titles, immense player, best of all time, but he was an Olympic champion,” the 39-year-old Frenchman explained.
‘HISTORY ELEMENT’
“I think for the players that obviously love the game, obviously there’s a financial element, but there’s also a passion, a dedication and a history element of it. This is something you can relate to being, an Olympic medallist.”
The president said that existing flag football players such as US quarterback Darrell “Housh” Doucette would not feel overlooked or threatened by NFL players like Mahomes.
“I like what Housh was saying (recently) — he is welcoming the competition. He’s not saying he’s better or not better — it’s like, ‘Hey, let’s compete. We are high-level athletes, we aim to be Olympians, let’s compete,’” Trochet explained.
The IFAF is already setting its sights on having flag football included in the Brisbane Olympics in 2032.
With gender equality a key area of focus for the International Olympic Committee, Trochet emphasized the sport’s progressive nature, highlighting the availability of college scholarships for women players.
“This is great for the women’s game — in Lahti, in Finland, for the world championship a few months ago, it was the first generation of athletes that had those scholarships for being a student athlete in flag football, and you can see that the level of the game just immediately elevated,” Trochet said.
“In Germany now it can become a university sport as well, in Italy, in Nigeria — it’s the case everywhere. Activity linked to school and university and high school et cetera, this is where you figure it out — that the game is at its fastest growing point.” — Reuters
